Prediction of loss of network connection and caching of content

ABSTRACT

In one aspect, an apparatus includes at least one processor and storage accessible to the at least one processor. The storage may include instructions executable by the at least one processor to predict that a device will not have a network connection during a period of time. Based on the prediction, the instructions may also be executable to recommend content to cache at the device in advance of the period of time and/or to automatically cache the content.

FIELD

The present application relates to technically inventive, non-routinesolutions that are necessarily rooted in computer technology and thatproduce concrete technical improvements. In particular, the presentapplication relates to prediction of the loss of a network connection ata device and the caching of content.

BACKGROUND

As recognized herein, there are circumstances where an Internetconnection may be difficult or impossible to obtain, such as on anairplane flight. There are also areas of the country where cellularInternet coverage still does not extend, such as in many rural areas.However, the present application recognizes that there is still a needto access content and other data over the Internet during such times.There are currently no adequate solutions to the foregoingcomputer-related, technological problem.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, in one aspect an apparatus includes at least one processorand storage accessible to the at least one processor. The instructionsinclude instructions executable by the at least one processor to predictthat a device will not have a network connection during a period oftime. Based on the prediction, the instructions are also executable torecommend content to cache at the device in advance of the period oftime.

In some implementations, the apparatus may be the device, the device mayinclude a display accessible to the at least one processor, and theinstructions may be executable by the at least one processor torecommend the content by presenting an indication regarding the contenton the display. The instructions may even be executable by the at leastone processor to present a graphical user interface (GUI) on thedisplay, where the GUI may include a prompt asking whether a user wouldlike the device to cache the content at the device and where theindication itself may also be presented on the GUI. In some examples,the GUI may further include a selector that is selectable by the user toprovide a command for the device to cache the content at the device.

In other implementations, the apparatus may be a server. In theseimplementations, the instructions may be executable by the at least oneprocessor to recommend the content by transmitting an indication of thecontent to the device.

In certain examples, the network connection may include an Internetconnection. Also in certain examples, the instructions may be executableto make the prediction based at least in part on data indicated in anelectronic calendar accessible to the apparatus. The data may beassociated with a particular event indicated in the electronic calendar,the period of time may be indicated in the electronic calendar asassociated with the particular event, and the event may be determined tobe related to an event type that is associated with not having a networkconnection.

Additionally, in some implementations the instructions may be executableby the at least one processor to select the content for recommendationbased on the length of the period of time and/or based on identificationof past instances of content observation.

In another aspect, a method includes determining that a device will nothave a network connection during a period of time and, based on thedetermining, presenting a prompt on an electronic display requestinguser input regarding whether the device should download and storecontent at the device in advance of the period of time.

In some implementations, the determining may be based at least in parton receipt of a communication from a server indicating that the devicewill not have the network connection during the period of time. Thecommunication may relate to data in an electronic calendar associatedwith a user, and/or may specify that the device will not have thenetwork connection during the period of time.

Also in some implementations, the method may include presenting aselector on the electronic display along with the prompt, where theselector may be selectable to provide user input for the device todownload and store the content at the device in advance of the period oftime.

Additionally, in some examples the determining may be based at least inpart on a current location of the device.

Also in some examples, the user input may be first user input, and thedetermining may be based on second user input specifying the period oftime. The second user input may be received based on identification ofinput to a graphical element presented on the electronic display.

In another aspect, a computer readable storage medium (CRSM) that is nota transitory signal includes instructions executable by at least oneprocessor to predict that a device will not have an Internet connectionduring a period of time. The instructions are also executable to,responsive to the prediction, automatically download content to thedevice before the beginning of the period of time.

In some examples, the content may be selected for automatic downloadbased on a threshold non-zero number of past correct predictions ofcontent to download being met. Also in some examples, the content thatis selected for automatic download may be selected based on the lengthof the period of time.

The details of present principles, both as to their structure andoperation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and inwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system consistent with presentprinciples;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example network of devices consistentwith present principles;

FIG. 3 is an example illustration of a graphical user interface (GUI)that may be presented on a display based on a device predicting that aloss of an Internet/Wi-Fi connection is upcoming consistent with presentprinciples;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example algorithm to be executed by adevice consistent with present principles;

FIG. 5 shows an example GUI that may be presented on a display for auser to provide input that a loss of an Internet/Wi-Fi connection isupcoming consistent with present principles;

FIG. 6 shows an example GUI that may be presented based on a loss of anInternet/Wi-Fi connection occurring consistent with present principles;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example relational database for use by a deviceconsistent with present principles; and

FIG. 8 shows an example GUI for configuring settings of a device foroperation consistent with present principles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application relates to devices that may predict when a userwill not have a cellular or Wi-Fi Internet connection so that the devicecan pre-load data relevant to the user for the user to use while thereis no connection. Thus, the device may anticipate a network outage andthen cache content it would otherwise download or steam later foroffline access during the outage.

For example, assume a user is embarking on a flight. According to user'selectronic calendar, the user has a 97 minute flight from upcoming. Alsoassume the user has been listening to a certain podcast for three hoursand 46 minutes that same week and is currently listening to episodefour. The device may recognize this usage of the podcast and also thecalendar entry for the flight to determine a future network outageduring the flight and prompt the user regarding whether the user wouldlike the device to cache the remaining episodes in the same podcastbeyond episode four for the user to access while the device is offlineduring the flight. The user may then provide input for the device tocache the remaining episodes and the device may act accordingly.

Thus, it may be appreciated that various types of data may be used for adevice to make predictions of the loss of an Internet connection. Thedata may include calendar data, location data, and even user input whenthe user knows that he or she will lose Internet service.

Additionally, in some examples an artificial intelligence modelemploying deep machine learning via an artificial neural network may beused to verify decision logic. The model may learn the user'spreferences over time and strengthen future predictions and contentrecommendations accordingly.

With respect to any computer systems discussed herein, a system mayinclude server and client components, connected over a network such thatdata may be exchanged between the client and server components. Theclient components may include one or more computing devices includingtelevisions (e.g., smart TVs, Internet-enabled TVs), computers such asdesktops, laptops and tablet computers, so-called convertible devices(e.g., having a tablet configuration and laptop configuration), andother mobile devices including smart phones. These client devices mayemploy, as non-limiting examples, operating systems from Apple Inc. ofCupertino Calif., Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., or MicrosoftCorp. of Redmond, Wash. A Unix® or similar such as Linux® operatingsystem may be used. These operating systems can execute one or morebrowsers such as a browser made by Microsoft or Google or Mozilla oranother browser program that can access web pages and applicationshosted by Internet servers over a network such as the Internet, a localintranet, or a virtual private network.

As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps forprocessing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented insoftware, firmware or hardware, or combinations thereof and include anytype of programmed step undertaken by components of the system; hence,illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps aresometimes set forth in terms of their functionality.

A processor may be any general purpose single- or multi-chip processorthat can execute logic by means of various lines such as address lines,data lines, and control lines and registers and shift registers.Moreover, any logical blocks, modules, and circuits described herein canbe implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device such as an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A processor can also be implemented by a controller orstate machine or a combination of computing devices. Thus, the methodsherein may be implemented as software instructions executed by aprocessor, suitably configured application specific integrated circuits(ASIC) or field programmable gate array (FPGA) modules, or any otherconvenient manner as would be appreciated by those skilled in those art.Where employed, the software instructions may also be embodied in anon-transitory device that is being vended and/or provided that is not atransitory, propagating signal and/or a signal per se (such as a harddisk drive, CD ROM or Flash drive). The software code instructions mayalso be downloaded over the Internet. Accordingly, it is to beunderstood that although a software application for undertaking presentprinciples may be vended with a device such as the system 100 describedbelow, such an application may also be downloaded from a server to adevice over a network such as the Internet.

Software modules and/or applications described by way of flow chartsand/or user interfaces herein can include various sub-routines,procedures, etc. Without limiting the disclosure, logic stated to beexecuted by a particular module can be redistributed to other softwaremodules and/or combined together in a single module and/or madeavailable in a shareable library.

Logic when implemented in software, can be written in an appropriatelanguage such as but not limited to C# or C++, and can be stored on ortransmitted through a computer-readable storage medium (that is not atransitory, propagating signal per se) such as a random access memory(RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) orother optical disk storage such as digital versatile disc (DVD),magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices includingremovable thumb drives, etc.

In an example, a processor can access information over its input linesfrom data storage, such as the computer readable storage medium, and/orthe processor can access information wirelessly from an Internet serverby activating a wireless transceiver to send and receive data. Datatypically is converted from analog signals to digital by circuitrybetween the antenna and the registers of the processor when beingreceived and from digital to analog when being transmitted. Theprocessor then processes the data through its shift registers to outputcalculated data on output lines, for presentation of the calculated dataon the device.

Components included in one embodiment can be used in other embodimentsin any appropriate combination. For example, any of the variouscomponents described herein and/or depicted in the Figures may becombined, interchanged or excluded from other embodiments.

“A system having at least one of A, B, and C” (likewise “a system havingat least one of A, B, or C” and “a system having at least one of A, B,C”) includes systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.

The term “circuit” or “circuitry” may be used in the summary,description, and/or claims. As is well known in the art, the term“circuitry” includes all levels of available integration, e.g., fromdiscrete logic circuits to the highest level of circuit integration suchas VLSI, and includes programmable logic components programmed toperform the functions of an embodiment as well as general-purpose orspecial-purpose processors programmed with instructions to perform thosefunctions.

Now specifically in reference to FIG. 1, an example block diagram of aninformation handling system and/or computer system 100 is shown that isunderstood to have a housing for the components described below. Notethat in some embodiments the system 100 may be a desktop computersystem, such as one of the ThinkCentre® or ThinkPad® series of personalcomputers sold by Lenovo (US) Inc. of Morrisville, N.C., or aworkstation computer, such as the ThinkStation®, which are sold byLenovo (US) Inc. of Morrisville, N.C.; however, as apparent from thedescription herein, a client device, a server or other machine inaccordance with present principles may include other features or onlysome of the features of the system 100. Also, the system 100 may be,e.g., a game console such as XBOX®, and/or the system 100 may include amobile communication device such as a mobile telephone, notebookcomputer, and/or other portable computerized device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include a so-called chipset 110.A chipset refers to a group of integrated circuits, or chips, that aredesigned to work together. Chipsets are usually marketed as a singleproduct (e.g., consider chipsets marketed under the brands INTEL®, AMD®,etc.).

In the example of FIG. 1, the chipset 110 has a particular architecture,which may vary to some extent depending on brand or manufacturer. Thearchitecture of the chipset 110 includes a core and memory control group120 and an I/O controller hub 150 that exchange information (e.g., data,signals, commands, etc.) via, for example, a direct management interfaceor direct media interface (DMI) 142 or a link controller 144. In theexample of FIG. 1, the DMI 142 is a chip-to-chip interface (sometimesreferred to as being a link between a “northbridge” and a“southbridge”).

The core and memory control group 120 include one or more processors 122(e.g., single core or multi-core, etc.) and a memory controller hub 126that exchange information via a front side bus (FSB) 124. As describedherein, various components of the core and memory control group 120 maybe integrated onto a single processor die, for example, to make a chipthat supplants the “northbridge” style architecture.

The memory controller hub 126 interfaces with memory 140. For example,the memory controller hub 126 may provide support for DDR SDRAM memory(e.g., DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.). In general, the memory 140 is a type ofrandom-access memory (RAM). It is often referred to as “system memory.”

The memory controller hub 126 can further include a low-voltagedifferential signaling interface (LVDS) 132. The LVDS 132 may be aso-called LVDS Display Interface (LDI) for support of a display device192 (e.g., a CRT, a flat panel, a projector, a touch-enabled lightemitting diode display or other video display, etc.). A block 138includes some examples of technologies that may be supported via theLVDS interface 132 (e.g., serial digital video, HDMI/DVI, display port).The memory controller hub 126 also includes one or more PCI-expressinterfaces (PCI-E) 134, for example, for support of discrete graphics136. Discrete graphics using a PCI-E interface has become an alternativeapproach to an accelerated graphics port (AGP). For example, the memorycontroller hub 126 may include a 16-lane (x16) PCI-E port for anexternal PCI-E-based graphics card (including, e.g., one of more GPUs).An example system may include AGP or PCI-E for support of graphics.

In examples in which it is used, the I/O hub controller 150 can includea variety of interfaces. The example of FIG. 1 includes a SATA interface151, one or more PCI-E interfaces 152 (optionally one or more legacy PCIinterfaces), one or more USB interfaces 153, a LAN interface 154 (moregenerally a network interface for communication over at least onenetwork such as the Internet, a WAN, a LAN, etc. under direction of theprocessor(s) 122), a general purpose I/O interface (GPIO) 155, a low-pincount (LPC) interface 170, a power management interface 161, a clockgenerator interface 162, an audio interface 163 (e.g., for speakers 194to output audio), a total cost of operation (TCO) interface 164, asystem management bus interface (e.g., a multi-master serial computerbus interface) 165, and a serial peripheral flash memory/controllerinterface (SPI Flash) 166, which, in the example of FIG. 1, includesBIOS 168 and boot code 190. With respect to network connections, the I/Ohub controller 150 may include integrated gigabit Ethernet controllerlines multiplexed with a PCI-E interface port. Other network featuresmay operate independent of a PCI-E interface.

The interfaces of the I/O hub controller 150 may provide forcommunication with various devices, networks, etc. For example, whereused, the SATA interface 151 provides for reading, writing or readingand writing information on one or more drives 180 such as HDDs, SDDs ora combination thereof, but in any case the drives 180 are understood tobe, e.g., tangible computer readable storage mediums that are nottransitory, propagating signals. The I/O hub controller 150 may alsoinclude an advanced host controller interface (AHCI) to support one ormore drives 180. The PCI-E interface 152 allows for wireless connections182 to devices, networks, etc. The USB interface 153 provides for inputdevices 184 such as keyboards (KB), mice and various other devices(e.g., cameras, phones, storage, media players, etc.).

In the example of FIG. 1, the LPC interface 170 provides for use of oneor more ASICs 171, a trusted platform module (TPM) 172, a super I/O 173,a firmware hub 174, BIOS support 175 as well as various types of memory176 such as ROM 177, Flash 178, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) 179. Withrespect to the TPM 172, this module may be in the form of a chip thatcan be used to authenticate software and hardware devices. For example,a TPM may be capable of performing platform authentication and may beused to verify that a system seeking access is the expected system.

The system 100, upon power on, may be configured to execute boot code190 for the BIOS 168, as stored within the SPI Flash 166, and thereafterprocesses data under the control of one or more operating systems andapplication software (e.g., stored in system memory 140). An operatingsystem may be stored in any of a variety of locations and accessed, forexample, according to instructions of the BIOS 168.

Additionally, the system 100 may include a GPS transceiver 191 that isconfigured to communicate with at least one satellite toreceive/identify geographic position information and provide thegeographic position information to the processor 122 for determiningdevice location consistent with present principles. However, it is to beunderstood that another suitable position receiver other than a GPSreceiver may be used in accordance with present principles to determinethe location of the system 100.

Additionally, though not shown for simplicity, in some embodiments thesystem 100 may include a gyroscope that senses and/or measures theorientation of the system 100 and provides input related thereto to theprocessor 122, as well as an accelerometer that senses accelerationand/or movement of the system 100 and provides input related thereto tothe processor 122. Still further, the system 100 may include an audioreceiver/microphone that provides input from the microphone to theprocessor 122 based on audio that is detected, such as via a userproviding audible input to the microphone, and a camera that gathers oneor more images and provides input related thereto to the processor 122.The camera may be a thermal imaging camera, an infrared (IR) camera, adigital camera such as a webcam, a three-dimensional (3D) camera, and/ora camera otherwise integrated into the system 100 and controllable bythe processor 122 to gather pictures/images and/or video.

It is to be understood that an example client device or othermachine/computer may include fewer or more features than shown on thesystem 100 of FIG. 1. In any case, it is to be understood at least basedon the foregoing that the system 100 is configured to undertake presentprinciples.

Turning now to FIG. 2, example devices are shown communicating over anetwork 200 such as the Internet in accordance with present principles.It is to be understood that each of the devices described in referenceto FIG. 2 may include at least some of the features, components, and/orelements of the system 100 described above. Indeed, any of the devicesdisclosed herein may include at least some of the features, components,and/or elements of the system 100 described above.

FIG. 2 shows a notebook computer and/or convertible computer 202, adesktop computer 204, a wearable device 206 such as a smart watch, asmart television (TV) 208, a smart phone 210, a tablet computer 212, anda server 214 such as an Internet server that may provide cloud storageaccessible to the devices 202-212. It is to be understood that thedevices 202-214 are configured to communicate with each other over thenetwork 200 to undertake present principles.

Now in reference to FIG. 3, it shows an example graphical user interface(GUI) 300 that may be presented on the display of an end-user's devicewhen the device determines/predicts that the device will not have anetwork connection during an upcoming period of time that has yet tooccur but that the device determines will occur. For instance, if theuser is embarking on an airplane flight in the future, the user's smartphone may determine that wireless cellular/Wi-Fi Internet access will beunavailable during the flight. Then responsive to a threshold time beingreached that is before the flight is scheduled to take off (e.g., tenminutes before), the smart phone may present the GUI 300.

As shown in FIG. 3, the GUI 300 may include a prompt 302 indicating thatthe device has predicted that it will lose its ability to access theInternet when a flight identified from the user's electronic calendarbegins. The prompt 302 may also ask whether the user wishes the deviceto download the next episode of the user's favorite podcast in advanceof the flight so that the user may listen to the podcast on the flightas it is stored on the device rather than as might be streamed using theInternet as would be possible if the device were not about to loseInternet access.

The podcast may be identified by the device and recommended via the GUI300 based on the user designating it as a favorite through whateverservice provides the podcast. Additionally or alternatively, the podcastrecommended to the user may be identified based on it being amost-recent podcast to which the user listened. The next episode maythen be recommended for download and storage at the device based on thedevice determining that the user already listened to the immediatelyprior episode as may be determined based on communication with thepodcast service itself or as tracked at the device. However, if a userhad not completed listening to the prior episode, that too may berecommended for download along with the next episode.

In any case, FIG. 3 shows that accompanying the indication of the user'sfavorite podcast may be a “yes” selector 304 and a “no” selector 306.The selector 304 may be selectable based on touch or mouse input toprovide a command to the device for the device to download and store thenext episode of the podcast locally at the device in advance of theuser's flight. Selector 306 may be selectable to command the device todecline to do so and remove the GUI 300 from presentation on thedisplay.

Additionally, in some examples the GUI 300 may include an indication inthe form of a list 308 of still other content the device has identifiedand recommends as potentially being of interest to the user. The contentin the list 308 may be content that is the same as or similar to contentthe user has observed in the past and these recommendations may berefined over time using an artificial intelligence model (e.g.,including one or more deep or convolutional neural networks) thatemploys machine learning. Thus, in such examples machine learning may beused to lean the user's content preferences (and even contentpreferences for certain times of day) and infer content the user wouldlikely want to observe in the future during the loss of networkconnection.

For example, if the user scrolls through the news feed for their socialnetworking account at least once a day, a recommendation 310 of anhour's worth of scrolling of the feed may be presented along with aselector 312 to command the device to download an hour's worth of thefeed. A determination of how much content may constitute an hour's worthof scrolling may be user-specific in that the device may track over timehow many posts the user typically scrolls through/views on average pertime increment. Then assuming the device identifies the user's upcomingflight as being an hour long, the device may provide the recommendation310 of an hour's worth of scrolling and, responsive to selection of theselector 312, cache an hour's worth of social networking content for theuser to scroll based on the average number of posts viewed per timeincrement.

As another example, the list 308 may include a recommendation 314 forthe device to download two hour's worth of music from a service fromwhich the user typically streams music using an Internet connection. Twohours' worth of music may then be downloaded to the device based onselection of the selector 316. In some examples, two hours' worth may berecommended even though the user's flight is only determined to be anhour long so that ample music may be available to the user during theflight should the user decide to skip certain songs. However,alternatively the device may simply download an hour's worth of music byadding up the runtime of upcoming songs that would have been streamedand then downloading an hour's worth of those songs based on theirruntimes.

As still another example, the list 308 may include a recommendation 318to download the user's flight itinerary for the upcoming flight based onselection of the selector 320. The itinerary may be downloaded from theuser's email account or a website for the flight's carrier so that theuser may view the itinerary whenever he or she wishes during the flighteven without an Internet connection. The itinerary itself may beinferred as relevant by an artificial intelligence model given the useris about to embark on a flight indicated in the itinerary.

Now describing FIG. 4, it shows example logic that may be executed by adevice such as an end-user's device (e.g., the system 100) or a servercommunicating with an end user's device in accordance with presentprinciples. Note that while cellular Internet coverage is used as anexample network connection in the description below, the following mayalso apply to determining Wi-Fi Internet availability and availabilityof still other types of networks such as Bluetooth networks and wiredlocal area networks.

Beginning at block 400, the device may access calendar data for anelectronic calendar associated with the user, as may be stored in cloudstorage hosted on a server or elsewhere.

The logic may then proceed to decision diamond 402 where the device maydetermine whether the calendar data indicates an upcoming event that isassociated with the device not having a network connection. An event maybe determined as upcoming if, for example, it is scheduled to begin nomore than a threshold non-zero time from a current time, such as an hourand a half before the flight in the example of FIG. 3.

Determining whether the upcoming event is associated with the device nothaving a network connection may be determined based on identification ofa keyword or event type from the calendar data for the upcoming eventand then correlation to whether the keyword or event type is associatedwith not having a network connection. The correlation may be made, forexample, using a relational database such as the database of FIG. 7 thatwill be described later.

Determining whether the event is associated with the device not having anetwork connection may also be based on identification from the calendardata of a location at which the event is to take place, which may thenbe used to determine cellular Internet coverage for the area. Forinstance, a map of cellular Internet coverage for the user's cellularprovider may be accessed over the Internet to determine whether the mapindicates cellular Internet coverage for the location of the event. Anonline relational database correlating GPS coordinates or location namesto whether cellular Internet service covers the corresponding area mayalso be accessed to make the determination at diamond 402.

An affirmative determination at diamond 402 may cause the logic toproceed to block 410, where a period of time during which there will beno network connection may be identified. In terms of making thisidentification based on calendar data, the period of time may be thesame as the period of time that the upcoming is scheduled to occur, orthe period of time the event is scheduled to occur plus a thresholdamount of additional time before and after the event is scheduled tooccur (e.g., five minutes before and five minutes after). From block 410the logic may proceed to block 412, which will be described shortly.

But first referring back to decision diamond 402, responsive to anegative determination the logic may instead proceed to block 404 wherethe device may access location data indicating a current location of thedevice. The data may be in the form of GPS coordinates as indicated by aGPS transceiver on the device, as well as data from a proximate cellulartower (e.g., indicating GPS coordinates, city and state, or another wayto indicate location).

Also at block 404, in some examples the device may predict a destinationtoward which the device is moving, as may be indicated via GPScoordinates. For example, the device may use an artificial intelligencemodel and past user behavior, user interests, and geographic locationswithin a thirty degree angle left and right of the direction in whichthe device is moving to infer a possible destination of the user. E.g.,a national park may be inferred if the user likes to hike, has aninterest in hiking, and is moving toward a national park the deviceassociates with having hiking trails.

From block 404 the logic may then proceed to decision diamond 406. Atdiamond 406 the device may determine whether its current location (orthe predicted future destination) is associated with not having anetwork connection. For instance, a map of cellular Internet coveragefor the user's cellular provider may be accessed over the Internet todetermine whether the map indicates cellular Internet coverage for thecurrent location or destination. An online relational databasecorrelating GPS coordinates or location names (such as a particularnational park) to whether cellular Internet service covers thecorresponding area may also be accessed to make the determination atdiamond 406.

An affirmative determination at diamond 406 may cause the logic toproceed to block 410 where a period of time may be identified duringwhich there will be network connection. In terms of making thisidentification based on location data, the period of time may be thesame as a period of time identified from an electronic history of pastinstances that the user has visited the location, and/or data on howlong other people typically spend at that location as may be accessedover the Internet. From block 410 the logic may proceed to block 412,which will be described shortly.

But first, note that a negative determination at diamond 406 may insteadcause the logic to proceed to block 408. At block 408 the device mayeither receive user input indicating that there will be a lack ofnetwork connection in the future for a time that may be specified by theuser, or revert back to block 400 and proceed therefrom should no userinput be received at block 408. Regarding the user input indicating thelack of a network connection, the input may be received based on theuser directing input to a graphical element presented on the device'sdisplay to indicate no network connection, such as the elements 506 and510 that will be described below in reference to FIG. 5.

But still in reference to FIG. 4, assuming user input is received atblock 408 the logic may then proceed to block 410. At block 410, thedevice may identify a period of time during which there will be networkconnection. In terms of making this identification based on user input,the period of time may be the same as a period of time specified by theuser that the device will not have a network connection. If a period oftime is not specified by the user, then a default period of time may beused. The default period of time may be, for example, one hour as set bythe device's manufacturer or an end user (e.g., via input to the GUI 800of FIG. 8 as will be described later).

From block 410 the logic may proceed to block 412. At block 412 thedevice may access an electronic history of past instances of contentpresentation or viewing at the device and/or by the user. The device maythen determine other content to recommend for caching at block 414 or toautomatically download/cache in advance of the loss of the networkconnection at block 418 based on the history. In some examples, thedevice may simply recommend/download the same content or content type asindicated in the history. Also in some examples, the device maydetermine a next episode or installment in a content series torecommend/download based on identification from the history of the userviewing an immediately prior episode or installment of the series (e.g.,podcast series, television series, etc.). Still further, in someexamples the device may use an artificial intelligence model that mayinclude a convolutional/recurrent neural network having machine learningcapability to make inferences about content that may be of interest tothe user for recommendation/download based on inputs such as time of dayduring which there will be no network connection, types of content theuser views at different times of day (e.g., as indicated in thehistory), content that is trending among the general population, contentthat is newly available for observation, etc.

Further, note that where multiple different contents may be determinedfor recommendation/download, the length of the period of time duringwhich there will be no network connection may be used to determine whichcontent to recommend/download. For instance, if the device predicts thata five minute subway ride is upcoming, that is not enough time to listento an hour-long podcast and thus the device may download five minute'sworth of a social networking news feed instead. But if the devicepredicts that an hour-long flight is upcoming, an hour-long podcast maybe recommended/downloaded. Thus, in some examples content may berecommended/downloaded based on the length of time it would take toobserve the content corresponding to the length of the expected networkloss.

As mentioned above, from block 412 the logic may then proceed to block414 where the device may actually recommend the determined content. Insome instances, the content may be recommended based on it matching theperiod of time identified at block 410 or exceeding the period of timeidentified at block 410 by at least a threshold non-zero amount (e.g.,five minutes). For example, using the hour-long flight example from FIG.3, the device may recommend an hour's worth of audio podcasts or an hourand five minute's worth of audio podcasts. Also note that, as indicatedabove, the content recommended at block 414 may be content identifiedfrom past instances of content observation.

Additionally, note in relation to block 414 that in examples where thelogic is executed by a server, at block 414 the recommendation may beprovided by electronically transmitting data to the end user's devicespecifying both the predicted period of time of network inaccessibilityand the recommended content. The end user's device may then present therecommendations on its display as part of a GUI, such as the GUI 300described above. However, in examples where the logic is executed by theend user's device itself, the end user's device may either receive thetransmission from the server and/or determine for itself content torecommend, and then present indications of the content on its display.

From block 414 the logic may proceed to block 416 where the device mayreceive user input to download/cache the content. If the logic isexecuted by a server, the user input may be received via transmissionfrom the end user's device. If the logic is executed by the end user'sdevice itself, the user input may be received based on selection of aselector presented on its display, such as one of the selectors 304,312, 316, and 320 described above in reference to FIG. 3.

From block 416 the logic may then proceed to block 418. At block 418 thedevice may download/cache the content selected by the user in advance ofthe period of time during which there will be no network connection.Additionally or alternatively, if the device is set to automaticallydownload/cache content when a determination is made that there will beno network connection in the future, at block 418 the device mayautomatically download/cache the content. This automaticdownloading/caching of certain content may be based on past correctpredictions that the device has made of content of interest to the userand may occur, for example, after a threshold non-zero number of pastcorrect predictions has been made as confirmed by the user (e.g., fivepast correct predictions). For example, an artificial intelligence modelemploying machine learning may be used to not only infer relevantcontent to recommend or automatically download as set forth above but tofurther improve its determinations of content to recommend/download astime goes on based on certain past recommendations actually beingselected by the user (e.g., using a GUI like the GUI 300 describedabove) and hence confirmed as a correct prediction of relevant content.

Concluding the description of FIG. 4, after block 418 the logic mayproceed back to block 400 and proceed therefrom.

Now describing FIG. 5, it shows an example GUI 500 that may be presentedon the display of an end user's device consistent with presentprinciples. Specifically, the GUI 500 may be presented based on the userlaunching an application configured to undertake present principles orthe user otherwise providing input to present the GUI 500. The GUI 500may also be presented responsive to a prediction by the device itselfthat it will not have a network connection during an upcoming period oftime, such as if such a prediction is made but the device is unable todetermine a precise period of time during which there will be no networkconnection.

As shown in FIG. 5, the GUI 500 may include a prompt 502 asking if theuser is taking the device out of range of a network through which theInternet may be accessed. The GUI 500 may also include a prompt 504 tospecify an amount of content for the device to download in advance ofthat. The amount of time may be specified in various ways, such as usingthe dial 506 that is shown to move a dial hand 507 around the dial tospecify a time between zero and four hours. In the current example, thedial has been set to two hours and thirty minutes. However, as anotherexample also note that various buttons may also be presented on the GUI500 that are each designated as associated with a different amount oftime so that a user may select from among the buttons to specify theamount of time.

The GUI 500 also shows that a prompt 508 may be presented for the userto select the selector 510 to indicate that the user's device will nothave a network connection and to command the device to download content.The selector 510 may be selected in instances where the user may notknow precisely how long his/her device will not have a networkconnection but still wishes that some content be downloaded in advance.As another example, though not shown in FIG. 5 a graphical switch todownload content may be flipped/selected to command the device toautomatically download content.

FIG. 6 shows yet another example GUI 600. The GUI 600 may be presentedonce the user's device has entered a period of no network connection orhas entered a location at which the device has no network connection. Insome examples, the GUI 600 may be presented simply responsive to one ofthese situations occurring. In other examples, the GUI 600 may bepresented based on these situations occurring but, e.g., only upon theuser illuminating the device's display.

As shown in FIG. 6, the GUI 600 may include a prompt 602 indicating thatthe device currently has no Internet connection and also indicating thatcontent has been automatically downloaded by the device that isdetermined to be relevant to the user. In the example shown, thiscontent is the next installment of a podcast to which the user has beenlistening. To listen to the installment as cached at the device, theuser may select the selector 604 to initiate playback of the audio ofthe podcast at the device.

Now describing FIG. 7, it shows an illustration of an example relationaldatabase 700 that may be used for determining whether an upcoming eventis associated with an end user's device not having a network connection.The determination may be based on a keyword, event type, location, etc.And as indicated above, keywords may be identified from calendar events,location data, or even using voice recognition to identify keywords fromaudio spoken by the user and detected by the device's microphone (suchas if the user mentions the word “hiking”, for example).

As shown, the database 700 may include a first column 702 listingkeywords, event types, and/or locations. The database 700 may alsoinclude a second column 704 of indications of whether anInternet/network connection would exist for the corresponding entry incolumn 702.

In FIG. 7, as examples, an event type/keywords for a “walk around theblock” may be associated with having an Internet connection while“flight” and “hike” may not. As another example, a “national park”location/keyword may be associated with not having an Internetconnection.

Moving on in the detailed description to FIG. 8, it shows an example GUI800 that may be presented on the display of an end user's device forconfiguring one or more settings of an application or the device itselfthat is undertaking present principles. The GUI 800 may include a firstoption 802 that may be selected using the check box shown next to it toset or enable the application/device to undertake present principles.For instance, the option 802 may be selected to configure the device toundertake the logic of FIG. 4 and present the GUIs of FIGS. 3, 5, and 6.

The GUI 800 may also include a second option 804 that may be selectedusing the check box shown next to it to set or enable theapplication/device to automatically download content that thedevice/application predicts the user may wish to observe while thedevice does not have an Internet connection. The GUI 800 may furtherinclude an option 806 for the end user to set a time before the loss ofan Internet connection is determined to begin at which to providenotifications related to the upcoming loss of an Internet connection.For example, one such notification may be the GUI 300 described above inrelation to FIG. 3. The user may direct numerical input to box 808 toestablish the time in minutes, hours, etc. Thus, the user may set a timebefore network loss at which the user wishes to be presented withnotifications and/or a time that will give the device itself enough timeto download content before losing an Internet connection.

As also shown in FIG. 8, the GUI 800 may further include an option 810.The option 810 may be selected to set a default amount of content forthe device to cache if it predicts that it will lose an Internetconnection. This may be useful, e.g., so that the user does not need tospecify an amount of content in a given instance and/or if the devicecannot predict a specific period of time that the Internet connectionwill be lost. Thus, a user may direct numerical input to input box 812to establish the time in minutes, hours, etc.

It may now be appreciated that present principles provide for animproved computer-based user interface that improves the functionalityand ease of use of the devices disclosed herein even when an Internetconnection is lost. The disclosed concepts are rooted in computertechnology for computers to carry out their functions.

It is to be understood that whilst present principals have beendescribed with reference to some example embodiments, these are notintended to be limiting, and that various alternative arrangements maybe used to implement the subject matter claimed herein. Componentsincluded in one embodiment can be used in other embodiments in anyappropriate combination. For example, any of the various componentsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the Figures may be combined,interchanged or excluded from other embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor;and storage accessible to the at least one processor and comprisinginstructions executable by the at least one processor to: receive datafrom a microphone accessible to the apparatus; execute voice recognitionusing the data to identify one or more keywords spoken by a user;predict, based on the one or more keywords, that a device will not havea network connection during a period of time; and based on theprediction, cache content at the device in advance of the period oftime.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is the device,wherein the device comprises a display accessible to the at least oneprocessor, and wherein the instructions are executable by the at leastone processor to: recommend the cached content by presenting anindication regarding the cached content on the display.
 3. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable by the at least oneprocessor to: select the content for caching based on a default periodof time.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the default period of timeis used based on the apparatus not being able to predict an actualperiod of time that the device will not have the network connection. 5.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the default period of time ispredefined prior to selection of the content for caching, the defaultperiod of time being predefined based on user input to a graphical userinterface (GUI) presented on a display.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the instructions are executable to: based on the prediction,recommend the content to cache via a display; receive user input tocache the content; and responsive to the user input, cache the content.7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the instructions are executable to:in response to the display being illuminated and based on the device nothaving the network connection, recommend the cached content to presentat the device.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions areexecutable to: based on the prediction, cache the content withoutreceiving user input, subsequent to the prediction, to cache thecontent.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions areexecutable to: in response to a display being illuminated and based onthe device not having the network connection, recommend the cachedcontent to present at the device.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe instructions are executable to: correlate the identified one or morekeywords to not having a network connection; and make the predictionbased on the identified one or more key words being correlated to nothaving a network connection.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein thecorrelation is made using a relational database associating keywordswith one or both of: having a network connection, not having a networkconnection.
 12. A method, comprising: receiving, at an apparatus, datafrom a microphone; executing voice recognition using the data toidentify one or more keywords spoken by a user; determining, based onthe one or more keywords, that a device will not have a networkconnection during a period of time; and based on the determining,presenting a prompt on an electronic display requesting user inputregarding whether the device should download and store content inadvance of the period of time.
 13. The method of claim 12, comprising:downloading the content responsive to user input for the device todownload and store the content in advance of the period of time.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, comprising: based on the electronic display beingilluminated during the period of time for which the device does not havethe network connection, present an indication that the downloadedcontent is available for presentation at the device.
 15. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the content comprises a certain amount of time's worthof scrolling a feed for a social networking account, the certain amountof time's worth of scrolling being determined based on an average numberof past posts per time increment through which the user has scrolled inthe past.
 16. A computer readable storage medium (CRSM) that is not atransitory signal, the computer readable storage medium comprisinginstructions executable by at least one processor to: receive data froma microphone accessible to the at least one processor; execute voicerecognition using the data to identify one or more keywords spoken by auser; determine, based on the one or more keywords, that a device willnot have an Internet connection during a period of time; and based onthe determination, cache content at the device in advance of the periodof time.
 17. The CRSM of claim 16, wherein the instructions areexecutable to: determine, in a first instance, that the device will nothave an Internet connection during a first period of time; responsive tothe determination in the first instance, recommend first content todownload to the device before the first period of time; receive userinput confirming that the first content should be downloaded to thedevice before the first period of time; responsive to the user inputconfirming that the first content should be downloaded to the devicebefore the first period of time, download the first content before thefirst period of time; determine, in a second instance after the firstinstance, that the device will not have an Internet connection during asecond period of time after the first period of time; and responsive tothe determination in the second instance and based on the user inputconfirming that the first content should be downloaded to the devicebefore the first period of time, automatically download second contentto the device before the beginning of the second period of time withoutrequesting, based on the determination in the second instance,additional user input to download the second content.
 18. The CRSM ofclaim 17, wherein one or more of the determinations in the first and/orsecond instances is based at least in part on the execution of voicerecognition using the data from the microphone.
 19. The CRSM of claim17, wherein the second content comprises a certain amount of time'sworth of scrolling a feed for a social networking account, the certainamount of time's worth of scrolling being at least equal to the secondperiod of time.
 20. The CRSM of claim 19, wherein the certain amount oftime's worth of scrolling is determined based on one or more of:tracking how many posts the user has scrolled through over one or moreperiods of time in the past, an average number of social networkingposts per time increment that the user has scrolled through in the past.